Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Big Duck is a Brooklyn agency that works exclusively with nonprofits to help raise money and increase visibility.

I sat down with
principal Sarah Durham and posed three crucial questions about belonging:

1. Good brands are bought, but great brands are
joined. Why do you think your employees
join yours?

Big Duck works exclusively with
nonprofits, so the people who want to work here are usually do-gooders with a
passion for mission-driven organizations and a love of good communications.
Most of them never thought they could find a place where they could get paid to
write, design, strategize, project manage (or whatever they do) for something
they believe in and get paid to do
it. Having a nice office space in an interesting neighborhood in Brooklyn helps
too. We also find that sharing our values
online (which we really use and live by) is
also a big reason people get excited to come here.

2. The great workplaces of the world have soul. What do you do to humanize your culture?

I want
to feel good about the place I work and the people I work. And when I get up in
the morning, I want my staff to feel that way too. We spend a ton of time
together, and our relationships to each other and the space we share have a
significant impact on our quality of life. I don’t usually push forced social
events, but rather try to celebrate people’s individuality, and make room for
it, so it happens fluidly and without hierarchy. We have Friday Snacks, after work
drinks, push-ups at 5pm, Lunch Club and Pictionary. Humanizing the culture
means making an environment where you care about people in dimensional ways.
And if you really do care about them beyond the job, it’s easier to make
decisions that help them thrive.

3. Belongingis a basic human craving. How do you remind employees that they've
found a home?

If they
need reminding, they probably aren’t really at home. The best employees have
what your business needs to grow and thrive, but they also need something from it
to grow and thrive personally. It should be a two-way street, a partnership, in
which both parties benefit and know why they are there. When that’s the case, employees
feel at home; they know they’re truly needed and what they’re getting
personally, beyond a paycheck. When people stagnate, stop growing, or get
complacent, it may be time to push them out of the nest.